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oh those sweetened memories
are we who we used to be
are we still those melodies
ringing in our ears

won’t you come and sit with me
can you hold the harmony
oh the way it used to be
when all this seemed so clear

or have we made our peace

remember when we owned the night
ushered in that morning light
have we given up the fight
have we given in

are we still the ones who dream
the ones who could do anything
the years just keep on crumbling
have we all moved on

or have we made our peace
have we made our hearts so hard they refuse to scar
and now we no longer feel

so won’t you come and lay with me
from long forgotten history
the pictures come and they cover me
and I remember once again

the blade is always beckoning
with me till awakening
or is it just an opening
can we begin again

Track Name: Klamath Lake

made my living on the water
fishing them runs up in the hills round klamath lake
you know I had myself a lover and a daughter
but couldn’t feed them on my take
cause all the farmers needed water
to feed the cities lit up in lights and built on sand
and when their fields began to suffer
they dug a scar and up and drained it from this land

death in the water
swimming up from the sea
mother forgive our slaughter
your river bleeds

so september brought those swimmers up this river
an artery from seas below
and I stood and watched in horror
as withered veins began to falter and wouldn’t flow
a scene of silver out there gasping
yet they all just kept on thrashing, pushing home
but with all of them exhausted
they just went belly up and rotted down to their bones

oh our life our land, they came to claim
five hundred years and it’s still the same
you know they bust in here with their deeds and guns
say it’s theirs until it’s gone

Track Name: The One Who Heard

making my way through
the deepness of the dark
down there to your door
silent and waiting
nestled with the wolves and the trees
said that you’d leave with me
said he don’t see you
said that it’s finally time
in the shadows of the night
oh you know I’d do you right
so where are you

places in private
oh the spaces you’d come around
out there on the edge of town
I’d sit and listen
to the stories that you’d weave...and believe
said that it was always me
but I hear those whispers
what did you say to everyone
to come off as the saint
oh the pictures that you paint
can be so threatening

said we were leaving
finally make it out of here
was I the only one, the only one who heard
said he mistreats you
said those wounds would never heal
was I the only one, the only one who heard
or are you...
are you still with him

you know I’m a good man
didn’t ask for this to start
to play that part
you know I’ve got a gentle heart
but letters in secret
slipped under a door
where you’d implore
“we’re not together anymore”
did you know that I kept them
hell you even signed your name
and though I’d like to do the same
well you know I’ll take the blame
martyring

Track Name: Toledo - Tacoma

toledo to tacoma
so this is minnesota
and now them rockies are in my sights
spent that night in san francisco
the water out my window
everything is gonna be all right

cause home...
no, no, no
I’m not going home

driving up the oregon coastline
between the shadow of them tall pines
the fog drifts to meet the tide
cross that border to vancouver
a shining city in the summer
on a bay by the mountainside

back through pastures of montana
the fields that fill nebraska
all them miles are piling on
lord just give me one good reason
to stay chained through four more seasons
a hint of spring and then I’m gone

cause out here on the highways
I could spend the rest of my days
fit to ramble and roam
to stay out here forever
drifting with the weather
I am home
I am home

Track Name: Sawmill Still

think I’ll move out west to the coast
no place too sunny, just remote
find me a little labor down at the mill
won’t have much money, but I’ll have the still

think I’ll move down south to the sand
lay down by the water and get me a tan
catch my dinner down at the docks
won’t have much but I won’t punch a clock

but these are just lies
meant to deceive
we make up these stories we never believe

think I’ll move on out overseas
won’t tell nobody, I’ll just up and leave
find me a little place in the south of spain
I’ll laugh with the locals and dance in the rain

and oh how we try ever so hard to smile
we push back this poison to sleep for a while

and oh lord I’m tired

Track Name: Shallows & Shoals

feel the chop of the waves
as I’m looking back
though they’re capsized and closed
like a noose around my neck
if you’ve never felt a weight like I do
listen to me now
cause I know our kind
and we can’t take it back
won’t leave you once it’s done

white then gray to black
tight together, hunkered down
under guard of deep cut cold
lest their breath should break
he rises and it rends
releases then retreats
but ever we move on
to shallows and the shoals
towards this thing I’ve done

out of the darkness
lift to the light
cast out the catch boys
grab and hold him tight
did you give surrender
did we break your might
oh those memories they linger
haunt me now at night

oh the shallows and shoals
stay with me on and on

Track Name: Ol' Wyoming

and so I broke on down to baton
with my sorrows and regrets
found myself a barstool and a few packs of cigarettes
left louisiana dead off whiskey, wine and beer
don’t care where I end up as long as it ain‘t here

so get me back to ol’ wyoming
with the cattle and the calm
where those meadows meet them mountains
and a man can greet the dawn
(and them cowboys sing their songs)
(yes it‘s the place where I belong)

and so I rolled on down to reno with just nickels to my name
found myself a table and threw that money down the drain
got out of nevada with them big guns on my heels
don’t care where I end up as long as it ain’t here

but I can’t avoid these fears
I’ve been running from all these years
and I can’t avoid your eyes
though I try so hard to hide

and so I slipped down to savannah
my soul I set out to save
learned myself the gospel for my salvation... well lord I prayed
got out of georgia and from those preachers pushing fear
don’t care where I end up as long as it ain’t here

Track Name: The Island

in the heat of the day
those doggies play in the bay around the island
green from the rain
you say it’s a shame we didn’t do this sooner
cause I was living a lie
telling myself, “hey you’re fine”...but I was dying
well you’d come down in the morn
to find me on the floor
I don’t do that anymore

the brothers they glow
all covered in snow against the evening
and above all these trees
I can finally see the truth that was calling
how I damn all those days that I threw away with that poison
so I put my boots on the ground
headed west to the sound
softly singing

don’t keep on living a life where you waste all your time getting wasted
don’t you bury the pain under bottles of shame that just keep on piling

deep in the woods
fern underfoot and birdies chirping
the fruits of this land, I hold in my hand
they heal my body
cause I put nothing inside
I was an outgoing tide growing weaker
oh but fighting the flow
in the ocean they grow
to return to these rivers

oh I heard those trains coming
oh son...it’s time to stop your running
and build yourself a home

and don’t keep on living a life where you waste all your time getting wasted
don’t you bury the pain under bottles of shame that just keep on piling

till you’re just empty cans and half drunken plans
and you used to be something
till you’re just empty cans and half drunken plans
that turned to nothing

Track Name: Over The Cane

after the long haul
out from under those chains
head down to the household
put some food to the flame
we listen to nesting
calling over the cane
oh they sing of a longing
they tell of her pain
she says that she’s leaving
although she remains

at home with the heathens
filled with that flesh
oh the warmth of the water
that beast on our breath
sink down to the darkness
wrapped in a womb
oh her voice is the humming
her arms like a tomb
the joy is so fleeting
that sorrow too soon

save these songs for the broken hearted
save your prayers for those departed
forget your fears and rest assured
no I don’t need them anymore

so after the long haul
at the end of those days
we’d jump from the rooftops
pull life from that clay
for all that was promised
and given away
she’s left with the burden
she’s left with the blame
but I remember that household
I remember that flame

Track Name: The Columns

to never say die... to never grow old
I’m still chasing those ships
still searching for gold
and are we alive if we act like machines
reassembled with flesh
to play out these scenes

astoria
your songs are calling me home
still there in my heart
still held in my bone
your shoreline
the truth, it’s buried within
I’m still hunting for hope that I held as a kid

who is your father and what does he do
cause all his hopes, all his fears
they’re passed on to you
we’re born to be free
to swim far and wide
but all these columns we’ve built
they continue to bind

Track Name: Give Me Your Tired

give us your weak, weary, and your poor
just like my fathers came before
you'd see those ships rolling to our shores
not anymore, can't you see...
we're all full up, we've lit that switch, no vacancy

work the fields, work the yards
clean those kitchens, back those bars
hide that accent, hide those scars
is it so hard, can't you see...
you pay your way but still we say you'll never be

free...home

no seeds ever sown
when any day may be the day that you are gone
when's the day we say we know that we were wrong

add the words to bend the law
no longer land for one and all
would our forefathers be appalled
oh to see, all this greed
we take so much more than we could ever need

while others only wish for a home

Track Name: Breathe The NIght

well, I remember better
those days after sun
to the water we'd run
where we'd breathe the night

well I remember better
those days after sun
in the dark having fun
when we'd breathe the night

well I remember when we'd jump in your car
pick up a case at the bar
and then we'd drive on down to the reservoir
where we'd breathe the night

now you do nothing but work
and I feel like a jerk when you say
"babe I've made salary"
cause that means nothing to me

but if you'd listen to a word, I'd say...
"just take er easy girl"
and if I could fix us with I lie I'd say...
"we will turn out all right."
well all right, but I remember better

so I'll noose up this tie
so I can finally buy you that car
trade in my electric guitar
for a house with a yard

and now I'm not placing blame
but it's really a shame that we're done
living after the sun
when we'd breathe the night

Track Name: Pacifica

spending the afternoon listening to
all the things I want to say to you
would you hear me screaming beneath the lies
well tonight, I will stay with you

conversation lasting longer, pulling me in
you tell me things... said I can't repeat them
would you ever have spoken if you knew I'd awake unbroken
remember every word

but I'll say hello to the pacific for you

don't think there'll be goodbyes this time
it's not my place to ask them of you
should I send you my sympathies
would you ever receive me if I showed any weakness

but I'll say hello to the pacific for you

to know I'm here, is all you need to know
to watch you sleep, is all I need
hearing you breath next to me
I say goodnight cause in the morning words won't come

there's never silence between me and anyone
except for you
so here are my words, here are my promises to you
and I'll say hello for you